Spring side metal shuttle



Patented May 2, 1939 UNITED STATES SPRING SIDE METAL SHUTTLE- Homer H. Holcombe, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to Textile Equipment, Inc., a corporation of Alabama Application September 28, 1936, Serial No. 102,903

13 Claims.

My invention relates to shuttles for looms which are more particularly, though not exclusively, adapted for use in automatic looms.

Many attempts have been made to develop a shuttle the component elements of which are made up of metal so as to produce a device capable of repair in the event of injury in service and which, at the same time, would meet all operative requirements. Up to the present time, the attempts to this end have not proven successful, and the shuttles in general service are made in one part of wood and of a type of Wood which is rapidly becoming exhausted, so that the price of such wood shuttles is steadily increasing and the quality of the shuttles is decreasing due to the necessity for using lower grades of wood stock.

The purpose of my present invention is to produce from assembled metallic elements a shuttle which is relatively inexpensive, possesses superior advantages to the wooden shuttle, and is capable of maintenance by replacement of its damaged or worn parts.

One of the important features of my invention resides in the designing of relatively light spring metal sides which enable-the shuttle to yield and simulate the flexibility and resiliency of the wooden shuttle.

My invention further comprises novel means for the effective connection of the spring sides to cast metal heads suitable to receive the bobbin spring and the eye and tips for the shuttle. Preferably, these heads are cast of a relatively light metal so that the weight of the assembled shuttle does not greatly exceed that of the wooden shuttle.

Certain surprising and unexpected characteristics developed in the practical use of my metallic shuttle, it being found that despite its increase in weight, as compared with the wooden shuttle, it would function perfectly in high speed looms operating in excess of two hundred picks per minute provided the power on the loom was substantially reduced, say from 30% to 40%.

My invention will be better understood in its method of construction and in its manner of operation by reference to the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification, and which illustrates my shuttle in its preferred embodiment only, in which Figs. 1 and 2 are opposite side views of the shuttle;

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the shuttle;

4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental view showing in cross section the means for anchoring the side ends to the shuttle heads;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a box on the loom showing the shuttle entering it, the shuttle here shown being designed to bring about an outward expansion of its spring sides; and

Fig. '7 is a side view reduced of a shuttle with slotted spring sides.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6, the shuttle comprises a head I0 bearing the standard shuttle eye H and a similar head 42 hearing the bobbin spring assembly l3 which, being standard, need not be described in detail. Each head has suitably anchored therein a standard shuttle tip 14 and the conformation of the heads follows closely that of the heads of the wooden shuttle. Each head has spaced parallel wings i 5 formed integral with the inner ends of its sides. I form in the sides of each shuttle head, in opposed relation, countersunk seats I! adapted to receive the head end l8 or the nut It! on a screw bolt 20, which bolt in the head l0 secures the eye H in position, and in the head l2 secures the bobbin spring assembly l3 in position. This assembly comprises a spring holder adapted to be anchored to the head I2 by top screw 2! threaded into the countersunk seat 22 in the upper surface of the head l2.

Each shuttle head and its wings 15 are formed to provide fiat seats which, when they merge into the sides of the head, are countersunk a depth equal to the thickness of the metal forming the shuttle sides 23 and 24, and each of the four seats at its end toward the tip is defined by inwardly converging shoulders 25 and 26, which terminate at a socket 21 formed in the metal head to receive snugly an angled end tip 28 on its respective shuttle side. The seats in the heads for the reception of the ends of the shuttle sides are so shaped that the outer surfaces of the ends of the sides blend without spacing, shoulder or offset with the sides of the shuttle heads, giving a smooth continuous flush surface fit with the exterior surface of the head castings which will avoid undue friction on the sides 29 and 30 of the shuttle boxes.

The tips form a tight lock in their sockets and assist in holding the heads in axial alignment and they insure against a sharp forward edge of the side working into position to scrape the box sides. When the bolts 20 are tightened up, these tips bind against the forward edges of their sockets, increasing the rigidity and security of the attachment of the sides to the heads, and absorbing much of the end thrust that otherwise would fall on the bolts 20 or the tapered side edges.

Each of the shuttle sides 23 and 24 are formed of sheet metal, preferably of spring stock of a thickness suitable to provide strength to connect the heads and resiliency that will enable the sides to bow inwardly or outwardly, according to the manner of their mounting, under the inertia of the following head when the shuttle is brought suddenly to rest.

Preferably both sides are formed with a longitudinal central groove 3| which fits into a complemental groove in, their seats that runs across the plain surface of the side seat and beyond the countersunk bolt head seats I! and out to the tip, the outer edge of which is grooved where it merges into the sides. This fit of the side heads in seat grooves tends to hold the heads in alignment. The groove in the shuttle side 23 is interrupted by the customary filling feeler opening 32 and is of suitable size to accommodate the filling yarn emerging from the shuttle eye H and prevent its contact with the box. The groove is provided in the opposite side 34 to balance the spring characteristics of the two shuttle sides, and while these grooves form beads that will tend to stiffen the sides, this may be overcome and the resilient balance restored by reducing the thickness of the metal in the beaded sides until they afford the desired spring action. Thus the grooves permit the use of lighter metal sides and assist in reducing the weight of the shuttle, but it is to be: understood that the shuttle will run with a plain back side but the front side must provide some suitable filling yarn groove. It will be observed that the shuttle sides are left plain at their upper and lower edges, the latter edge standing flush with the bottom edge of the case head wings, as will be observable in Fig. 4, and being thus flush the shuttle will run on the head flanges as well as on the bottom edges of its sides, and both will wear equally. This arrangement avoids the provision of stiffening flanges" at the base of the sides which would rob them of their spring action.

In assembling the shuttle, the spring sides 23 and 24 are properly connected to the heads. l0 and i2 by the screw bolts 20 with the bent-in tips 28 of the sides held fixedly engaged in the head sockets 21, and in order to further brace and make more rigid and secure the joint connecting the sides to the heads, I insert rivets 33 through the wings l5 and provide suitable holes to receive them in the ends of the sides. By swaging these rivets I provide a secure and non-releasing attachment which will not vibrate and work loose under the severe usage to which the shuttle is subjected. The rivets are preferred to screws, and those used are adapted to be removed at the mill when the shuttle is damaged so new sides can be replaced and riveted in place.

It will be understood, of course, that the eye H is first inserted in the head I 0 before its mounting bolt 21! is applied, and in like manner the bobbin holder assembly i3 is driven with a tight fit into place in the head I2 before its mounting bolt 20 is inserted. Thus these single bolts 2%! serve as the anchorage both for the head elements and as the main attachment for the sides to the heads.

By countersinking the seats I! and presenting their untapered sides at right angles to the long axis of the shuttle, I obtain a positive anchorage for the ends of the shuttle sides which will not exert a vibratory, or prying action on the screw bolt of a character that would tend to loosen it. If desired, this bolt can have its nut end swaged so as to prevent accidental loosening of the nut and yet permit of its removal by a suitable'tool.

The sides of the shuttle can be adapted to bow inwardly or outwardly, according to their shape or the disposition of the seats provided for them on the shuttle heads. In the type of shuttle shown in Fig. 6, the seats are slightly divergent and thus will set the sides in position where they will tend to bow outwardly. By shaping the seats differently, these sides can be adapted to bow inwardly, and by leaving them straight the sides will bow inwardly or outwardly, according to the forces that work in the shuttle.

I have found there is less tendency for the shuttle to have lateral deflection in entering the shuttle box if the sides are set to bow inwardly, for, in the case of the outward bow, if both. sides do not expand at the same point and to the same extent, they might produce a slight diversion of the shuttle from its true line travel, but when the shuttle sides bow inwardly, the constant width of the heads presents the ends of the sides to work equally against the box sides and there is nothing to divert the shuttle from its rectilinear motion.

In Fig. 6 I have shown the back box wall 29 yieldingly pressed toward box wall 30 by the spring 34, which is a formal illustration of any suitable spring mounting for this box side. It will, of course, be understood that the tip on the entering shuttle head must move into full engagement with the picker 35 on the end of the picker stick, not shown.

The peculiarity of the action of this metallic shuttle, which has been heretofore alluded to, is that despite its increased weight, as compared with a wooden shuttle, one experiences no difiiculty in maintaining high speed of loom operation when it is used, nor does its additional weight increase the severity of its action against the picker. On the contrary, my experience is that my metallic shuttle is capable of easing itself into the loom boxes with a much slower rate of travel than in the case of light wooden shuttles, and its inertia will carry it into full engagement with the picker without such a violence of contact as would tend to produce a rebound. That the heavier shuttle will accommodate itself to the high loom speeds is perhaps to be accounted for by the fact that the wooden shuttle stands still approximately 50% of its time, and thus there is an ample margin of time allowed for the slower travel of the heavier shuttle without slowing the pick speed of the loom. In other words, in the use of my shuttle, it stands perhaps only 35% to 40% of its time, instead of 50%, as is the case with the light wooden shuttle, yet it boxes itself in ample time to clear any interference with the lay motion of the loom.

it will be obvious that any reduction in the speed of the shuttle at the moment of boxing will be of advantage in reducing the wear on the boxing and in lowering the tendency of the shuttle to rebound from correct position for the filling feeler action.

It is also to be considered that the higher the velocity of impact between shuttle and the box, the more violent the displacement of the spring box side 29 and the greater the tendency of the shuttle thus momentarily freed to spring forward under its inertia and seat too hard against the picker, but by reducing the velocity of the shuttle at the moment of impact this tendency is likewise reduced and the box has better opportunity to reengage the shuttle, before it strikes the picker, and slow it up. The lower velocity at which the heavier shuttle operates requires a reduction in the power on the loom. In actual practice, I have found it necessary to reduce this power from 30% to depending upon the speed of the loom. The greater the speed of the loom, the more it is necessary to cut down its power. The experience of the trade with the high speed loom has proven that its greatest disadvantage lies in the severe usage to which the shuttles are subjected by reason of their abnormal high speed of operation and the resulting difficulties of controlling the shuttle motion, and therefore my present invention lends itself with peculiar value to service in the high speed looms.

One of the most important advantages in my shuttle from a practical standpoint lies in the fact that the damage to shuttles usually results in the breaking of the sides, and when this occurs in my shuttle the sides can be straightened and replaced at the mill, or new sides may be kept in stock and at small cost mounted on the heads to replace the damaged sides. The ability thus afforded for repair of the shuttles at the mill at relatively small cost will enable the mills to operate the metal shuttles at a materially lower cost than the wooden shuttles which are unavailable for further use when damaged.

I prefer to use a light metal, such as an aluminum alloy, in the heads, and these will not unduly tend to heat up under service conditions, as I have found from long observation of my shuttle in actual service, that it holds to a reasonable running heat that will not damage or injure the yarn.

My shuttle has a further advantage in that its dimensions are so constant, despite temperature changes in the mill, that it will not tend to box differently when the mill is starting up as compared with its boxing action after it has been under service conditions. Further, the shuttle will have a substantially constant frictional factor with the box, regardless of weave room humidity or temperature, so that it will be less subject to damage from such changes in mill conditions than the wooden shuttle.

In Fig. 7 I illustrate a modification of my invention in which the groove or bead is omitted in the free span of the sides between the wings and a slot 36 is substituted. This will balance the spring action on both sides and the slot will form in effect a continuation of the groove for the protection of the yarn.

In all embodiments I prefer that the frictional wear against the box be taken by the shuttle sides.

While I have shown my invention in but two forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various other changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the ap pended claims. 1

What I claim is:

l. A shuttle for looms, comprising an assembly of parts consisting of end members adapted to receive a shuttle tip and an eye or bobbin spring and formed With side seats which increase endwise in vertical displacement from the adjacent upper and lower surfaces of their respective end member, flexible side members, and means to rigidly but demountably connect said sides tosaid end members with their top and bottom edges conformed to their respective side seats.

2. A shuttle for looms according to claim 1, in which the end members are moulded with countersunk side seats to receive the ends of the shuttle side members and provide top and bottom edges which lap over their respective end edges.

3. A shuttle for looms according to claim 1, in which the end members are moulded with countersunk endwise tapered side seats to receive with a flush fit correspondingly tapered ends of the shuttle side members.

4. A shuttle for looms according to claim 1, in which the end members are moulded with countersunk side seats to receive the ends of the shuttle side members, the opposite seats having transversely aligned countersunk recesses and the sides having offset bolt seats adapted to fit into said recesses, and the side connecting means comprising bolts seated flush in said seats.

5. A shuttle according to claim 1, in which the end members have tip sockets, and the side members are formed of spring metal strips having narrower ends bent to form tips adapted to fit into said sockets.

6. A shuttle according to claim 1, in which the end members have tip sockets and bolt head sockets and the side members have end tips and offset bolt head seats which respectively fit into said sockets on the end members.

7. A shuttle according to claim 1, in which the end members are provided with opposed bolt head sockets with their thrust bearing walls disposed substantially normal to the plane of the side members, said latter members being deformed to provide for a oomplemental fit in said sockets, and the side connecting means comprises a cross connecting bolt having its heads received within said sockets.

8. A shuttle for looms, comprising molded heads recessed to receive an. eye or bobbin spring and a tip of the shuttle, and having countersunk side seats, and flexible sides demountably made fast at their ends in said seats which are shaped to spring the sides out of parallelism.

9. A shuttle according to claim 8, in which a metal side is deformed to provide a yarn groove and its seat is recessed to conform to the yarn groove deformation in said side.

10. A shuttle consisting of molded aluminum heads each having a tip mounted therein, elongated wing extensions on the sides of the heads shaped to form side plate seats, spring metal side plates having their ends fitted onto said seats and held rigidly but demountably connected thereto by a plurality of connectors, and elements on the heads and plates which abut to take up the end thrust transmitted to the forward head of a running shuttle, the abutting portions being displaced inwardly from the top and bottom plane of the shuttle heads to remove them from the path of the yarn.

11. A shuttle consisting of rigid tapered heads having tips, means to mount a shuttle eye in one head and a bobbin spring in the other, spring sides connecting said heads, and means to set said sides on an arc to flex laterally in a predetermined direction.

12. A shuttle for looms comprising an assembly of parts consisting of end members adapted to receive a shuttle tip and an eye or bobbin spring, flexible side members and means to rigidly but demountably connect said side members to said end members comprising countersunk seats formed in the sides of the end. members and having upper and. lower side edges which toward the tip diverge from the upper and lower yarn engaging surfaces of the end members and which at their inner ends merge at an acute angle through the upper and lower surfaces of the end members, the ends of the side members being shaped to conform to and seat flush in the seats provided in said end members.

13. A shuttle according to claim 12, in which the seats in the end members provide butt joint portions substantially spaced from the upper and lower thread bearing surfaces of the end members.

HOMER H. HOLCOMBE. 

